Sweet Treats For Sweetest Day

The first Sweetest Day in history took place in October of 1921 in Cleveland, Ohio. Organized by a committee of candymakers, all sorts of candies were delivered to poor people throughout the city to put forth the message that that October Saturday was the "sweetest day of the year." Having evolved since then, people today celebrate this United States holiday with greeting cards, flowers, candy of course, and all sorts of sweet recipes.

So why not bake up some treats in honor of your loved ones this holiday? Here's a list of the sweetest Sweetest Day treats on Recipe4Living to help you out:

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Place the egg whites in a glass mixing bowl with salt. Beat until the whites are stiff. Slowly add 1 C. of sugar beating constantly. Mix in food coloring, almond extract and coconut using a slow deliberate mix to avoid deflating the mixture. Drop the mixture from a tsp. onto a greased and well-floured baking sheet. Bake about 30 minutes. Turn oven off and let kisses sit in oven for 1 1/2 hours.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Roll the cookie dough to ¼" thick and form it into a heart shape. Place the heart shape on a cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes, or until the cookie is lightly brown on the edges. In a large mixing bowl, mix cream cheese with confectioner's sugar. Spread the mixture on cooled cookie dough. Cover with cherry pie filling and whipped cream.

Yield: 12 servings

Chocolate Raspberry Crumb Bars

When you feel like getting fancier, try this slightly more elaborate bar.

Mx the milk, pineapples, and pecans together in a big bowl. Add the Cool Whip and mix well. Next, add cherry pie filling and mix well and be sure the mixture is turning pink. Let sit/cool for 1 hour. The mixture will harden.

Serving Size: 6

Preparation Time: 20 minutes

Chocolate Mousse Falling-in-Love Pie

A favorite from the movie Waitress, this pie is supposed to make anyone that eats it fall in love.

Place the egg whites and salt in the mixer's bowl. Whip until it begins to thicken. With the mixer running, slowly add the sugar and vanilla. Beat until firm. Pre-heat the oven to 250. Cover a cookie sheet with baker's parchment paper. Place mounds of approximately two Tbs. of the mixture a few inches apart. Cook for about 1 hour (or until the meringues are firm). Cool. Use immediately or store, covered, at room temperature. Top with ice cream and sliced strawberries. Makes 4-6

Berry Lite Mousse

Not just a light texture and dessert but this is a healthier way to make and to eat berry flavored mousse.

To make crust: Heat oven to 350 degrees. Mix crumbs, sugar and butter. Press mixture firmly against bottom and sides of an 8-inch pie plate. Bake for 10 minutes and cool.

To make filling: Heat marshmallows and milk in saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly, just until marshmallows have melted. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla, salt, peppermint extract and food coloring. Refrigerate, stirring occasionally, until mixture mounds slightly when dropped from a spoon. Beat whipping cream in chilled bowl until stiff. Stir marshmallow mixture until blended and fold into the whipped cream. Pour into crust, refrigerate for at least 12 hours. Just before serving, sprinkle with crushed candy.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. In medium bowl, combine cookie crumbs, butter, and brown sugar. Press firmly on bottom of spring-form 9" pan with sides greased. Lightly press cookie crumbs into the sides of the pan. In large bowl, beat cheese until fluffy. Beat in sugar, sour cream and eggs on low speed until smooth. Add lemon juice, flour and vanilla and mix well. In medium bowl, stir 1/3 of the batter into strained raspberry filling and mix well. Pour remaining batter into prepared pan. Using a spoon, drop the raspberry filling into the plain batter. With knife, swirl filling into batter. Bake for one hour or until center is set. Carefully loosen top of cheesecake from the edge of pan. Cool, refrigerate overnight, and carefully removes sides. Garnish as desired.